Skill shortages, training and industry standards urgently need to be addressed if the UK is to fully harness its renewable energy ambitions according to a new study from the EU-funded POWER Cluster group into the transfer of oil and gas expertise into the renewable energy sector.
The study is being supported by Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) and the East of England Energy Group (EEEGR), two not-for-profit organisations which actively aim to promote the transfer of the UK’s worldclass upstream oil and gas expertise into offshore renewables. And while the study has shown that there are already proving to be successful synergies between the sectors through natural diversification of skills from oil and gas into renewables, key concerns emerge in the area of skills and training, standards and technology.
With substantial, skilled work force needed in the offshore wind sector to build and maintain the offshore wind farms currently planned or under construction, the issue can only be solved by training many more engineers and technicians and allowing market forces to even out levels of remuneration, says the study. And while it widely recognised that there is a potential for a common pool of skilled people to work across both the oil and gas and renewables industries — including sharing training, qualification standards and potentially working for service companies which operate in both sectors — resources are currently limited.
Regarding standards, the study says that existing oil and gas standards should be adopted by the renewables sector before developing new ones. While this is an industry-wide issue involving training, safety, design, maintenance, inspection, basic material and component specifications and such, there is a plea from the oil and gas industry that there are lot of good standards available under ISO and API which could be adopted by the offshore wind industry.
Limited availability of equipment
With technology, the availability of offshore construction equipment is going to be extremely limited because offshore wind is competing for resources with offshore oil and gas, where the demand for hydrocarbons is generally high and growing. As a result, the availability of equipment such as capital plant, ships, cranes, pile hammers may well limit the rate at which offshore wind farms can be constructed.
Almost all the technology used in the construction of offshore wind farms — particularly in deeper water (25m-plus) — involves the direct application of techniques and equipment used in offshore oil and gas, with the possible exception of flat bottomed barges with shear leg cranes.
This new POWER (Pushing Offshore Wind Energy Regions) Cluster study involves 18 partners from six European countries — Germany, the UK, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway and Sweden — and aims to show how European co-operation to deliver offshore wind energy could lead to the North Sea becoming a global centre of excellence. The study is being carried out through a collaborative project between Natural Power and Ian Edwards of Aberdeenshire-based consultant Sunflower Blue.
Jeremy Sainsbury, director of Natural Power, said: “While the study is at a very early stage, it’s quite obvious to anyone working in or around the two industries that the situation is quite complex. While many relevant technologies and behaviours are being automatically transferred between the two industries, there are also a series of popular misconceptions that both sectors need to address and, more importantly, work together to find out how they can learn from each other.”
“Engaging in meaningful collaboration is one of AREG’s key aims," said Morag McCorkindale, AREG’s chief operating officer. "The UK’s deep-rooted upstream oil and gas expertise puts it at a considerable advantage to harness the renewables market because it has the infrastructure, transferable skills, research and development and all-important know-how. Many oil and gas mechanisms such as recognised codes of practice, sharing of information and supply chain management are also transferable.
“It is vital that we capitalise on this expertise and build as effective a supply chain in renewables as we have in oil and gas. Training a new generation is also crucial to meeting the growing needs of the offshore wind sector, particularly as the industry inherently ramps up for the activity in deeper levels of water."
